In the morning, I felt a little tummy trouble, and predicted I wouldn't make it the whole 13 miles without a pit stop. But, the weather was PERFECT, considering it's November in Colorado.
I had a good pace going at the beginning, and felt good too, the crowding eased up by the end of the first mile, even my first split was sub-9. I stopped (as predicted) at mile 5, but then felt better for a while. {Just last week I ran 12.4 miles with NO PIT STOP.} That was the biggest obstacle on race day. I think there was one more biffy around mile 7, which I didn't need, but then there were NONE until the finish. I really could have used one around mile 9 or so, and I'm truly grateful I didn't cross the finish line with anything extra in my pants, especially considering the Rocknaks had come to watch and give me a ride back to my car.
The second and maybe related obstacle was miles 9ish -11ish. I got chilled a couple times (felt like what happens sometimes when I'm sick), which I've never experience while running before, and had a really hard time staying focused. The course at this point was SO straight, passing by a cattle feed lot, and brown. I tried dedicating my miles to friends who are experiencing huge trials right now, and I succeeded for a mile or so, but it made me too emotional. The tears weren't such a problem, but it was affecting my breathing. I never saw the mile 10 marker, which also contributed to my mental challenge.
Basically I was feeling sorry for myself. Right before the mile 11 marker, I actually walked a few seconds. Fortunately a lady who passed me said "you're doing good", and I decided that running the rest of the way would at least put me out of my misery sooner. I had still had a pretty good pace going into miles 9 & 10, but I really felt that slipping away, and was just hoping that would not COMPLETELY tank, so I could still meet my original goal to beat 1:54.
The last mile, I was finally able to pull myself together a little. Mile 13 came sooner than I thought it would, and I knew I could 'sprint' the rest of the way {anyone who has run with me knows I don't really have a sprint}. I actually passed 3 ladies, and I don't think any of them even tried to pass me back. I didn't see the clock, but TeraLyn got a picture of me crossing at 1:52:30, I haven't found my official time yet. So, since I didn't see my official time, I was really surprised to stop my watch and see 1:50:06!!! My pace had not slipped as much as I thought. I am disappointed that I let myself fall apart for a couple miles. If I had stayed strong, my stopwatch could have read under 1:50. {I started my watch when I crossed the start, and only stopped it for my pit stop, which fortunately did not include waiting in line, but did include getting my mittens tucked into my shorts properly again. I stopped it after I crossed and they ripped my bib, probably only a couple seconds after I crossed the finish. So, it is a little more generous than a chip-time.}
I still felt a little 'off' the rest of the day and even this morning, so maybe I actually have some kind of tummy bug. Which if is true, makes me feel even better about my race time.
So now, I'm really tempted to do the Rock Canyon Half down in Pueblo on Dec. 4. But, I would have to find someone to watch the kids, since Scott will be sleeping (it's the day between MidS for him). So, I don't know if I'll do that or not. But, if I could get decent weather, and a run without pit stops, I might be able to break 1:50 officially.
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